Declan Rice says Arsenal 'gutted' with draw against Atalanta as he hails 'unbelievable' David Raya after double save
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Published 19/09/2024 at 22:21 GMT
Arsenal had David Raya to thank for a point at Atalanta after a fine double save from Mateo Retegui's spot-kick kept them level in the Champions League tie on Thursday night. However, a Gabriel Martinelli miss and a general lack of cutting edge left midfielder Declan Rice frustrated that his team had not been able to come away from Italy with a victory in their opening European match.
Decl
Image credit: Getty Images
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice said his team were “all gutted” as they failed to win three points at Atalanta on Thursday night in the Champions League.
Mikel Arteta’s men kept a clean sheet, courtesy of an excellent display from goalkeeper David Raya, who produced a superb double save as he kept out Mateo Retegui’s penalty and also his headed follow-up effort.
However, Gabriel Martinelli had a great chance in the second half to win the match for the away side, but the Brazilian was unable to convert, leaving the two sides to claim a point each.
Speaking to TNT Sports, England international Rice paid credit to Atalanta, who have worked for almost a decade under manager Gian Piero Gasperini.
“It’s tough to win away in the Champions League, really tough,” he said.
“These are European [UEFA Europa League] champions. They’ve had the same manager for nine years, playing man-to-man [marking] all over the pitch.”
Discussing Arsenal's performance, Rice was satisfied with the defensive side, but felt they had not done enough on the attack.
He explained: “It’s not easy, you have to adjust. I think the main thing was we defended well again.
“Our high press was good, but with the ball I think we can be 10 to 15 times better. We gave the ball away too sloppily tonight when we could have hurt them.
“They’re a really tough team to crack, they follow you all over the pitch.”
Rice ultimately appeared to regard it as two points dropped given there are seven more matches to play, with the next European match against French champions Paris Saint-Germain on October 1.
He said: “It’s a good point to start. Obviously, we want to win every game. That’s the ambition of the players, the manager, the club. But we’ve got really tough games coming, that’s the format.
“You have to win every game. We’ve got PSG at home, which will be a great game.
"We’ll take one game at a time. We’ll go back to the Prem now, but we’ve got our sights on the Champions League because we’ve got the players to do it.
"We are delighted with another clean sheet, the two centre-halves I can’t speak highly enough of them. The keeper has gone to the next level, unbelievable.
"They love defending and when you have a little triangle like that who want it as much as they do it’s really good. But we are all gutted in there because we want to win."
- - -
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.
Scan me
Share this article
Related Topics
Advertisement
Advertisement